My Fallen Idols

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I just penned a post that was highly critical of Seymour M. Hersh, a man that has always been a hero to me. When Colin Powell was the army major covering up the My Lai massacre, Seymour Hersh was the young reporter that broke the story. Yesterday, I basically called him out for trying to cover up a massacre with his attempt to blow smoke over who slaughtered people in Ghouta with sarin.

Seymour M. Hersh has become just the latest addition to my list of fallen idols. Fallen because they missed the changes. Fallen because in the crucial battles of our age, they chose to stand on the wrong side of the barricades.

With each one came a sharp pain and a deep sorrow. And so it is with Seymour M. Hersh.

The first of note was Fidel Castro in his support for Qaddafi. That was a most deeply felt pain because before that, I don't think I had ever disagreed with Fidel on anything. But I had been closely following developments in Libya beginning a month before 17 Feb and I just knew what I knew and I knew that Fidel didn't know what he was talking about and for whatever reasons, had opted to support a fascist tyrant against his people. You can read my blogs on Libya to see what I knew.

After him followed Hugo Chavez and local groups I had enjoyed good working relations with, ANSWER-LA and IAC, although, of course, they were never idols.

Cynthia McKinney and Dennis Kucinich added themselves to the list, as did a number of journalists, most recently Robert Fisk and Seymour Hersh.

Each has come as a blow. And yet I know what I know. I don't know why they made a wrong turn, I don't know why they have chosen the fascist dictator over the people.

I just know, that's not me.

So I shed a tear for what they once were and move on.

Click here for a list of my other blogs on SyriaClick here for a list of my other blogs on LibyaClick here for a list of my other blogs on Tunisia, Egypt and the Arab Spring